Marina Vista Elementary kids turning to the arts for inspiration

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Emily Guzman, second grader at Marina Vista Elementary School in Marina was excited as her portrait is printed from a Turnaround Arts photo truck that will part be of a mural at the school on Monday. (Vern Fisher – Monterey Herald)

MARINA — Students from Marina Vista Elementary Arts Academy on Monday decorated the walls of their school campus with none other than their own smiling faces.

It was all part of Turnaround Arts: California and what’s called its “Inside Out Project” that aims to make a bold and visual statement about the school’s dedication to leveraging the arts for educational equity.

“It really gives kids hands-on learning and arts access to all students,” said the school’s Principal Cristy Campanaro, noting how invested the school is in the program. “This intrigued us because it really captured our kids.”

Campanaro was out rounding up what she said was expected to be about 100 students who would participate in the project. Staff members were on hand operating a photo booth truck where kids would step inside for their picture to be taken before their 3-foot-by-5-foot poster would be spit out of a slot on the side of the photo truck. Then the black-and-white portraits were pasted up on some of the school’s exterior campus walls, in essence serving as an art installation that will last weeks to months, depending on the weather.

The school is one of 27 in California and over 80 nationwide that has the designation of being a Turnaround Arts school.

“We partner with schools that are arts ready and that have the highest needs,” said Jacob Campbell, the Turnaround Arts: California program manager, noting that Marina Vista is one of 10 schools brought into the program this year.

Turnaround Arts: California was co-founded in 2014 by renowned architect Frank Gehry and arts education advocate Malissa Shriver to administer the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Turnaround Arts program statewide.

It was in April that Marina Vista Elementary joined the program.

During the application process, Campanaro said she had envisioned a school where kids were excited to start their day of learning.

“We are so proud of this partnership because it will connect students, teachers, staff and the community together in different modalities. … It will help all students grow academically, artistically, emotionally and physically,” said Campanaro.

Martin Luther King Jr. School of the Arts in Seaside is another school in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District that’s part of the program.

“We just found that partnering with this district there’s so much alignment and commitment at the district level to assure all students have access to high-quality art experiences during the day,” said Campbell.

He noted that on Monday some students might choose to use props to help represent them in their photos while others might not.

Faviola Garcia, second-grader at Marina Vista Elementary School in Marina, watches as her portrait is printed from a Turnaround Arts photo truck that will part be of a mural at the school on Monday. (Vern Fisher – Monterey Herald)

“I’m just kinda excited to do it,” said third-grader Emily Truong, noting she planned to smile wide for the camera. “Smiling shows how happy you are and proud to take the photo.”

That’s while nine-year-old Allison Estrada, also in third-grade, was a little more nervous than Truong, afraid she might have blinked when her picture was snapped.

Estrada said that because she’s more aware of art now, she’s asked her mom to buy her paints.

“I like art a lot — it makes me happy,” said Estrada.

Campanaro enjoyed seeing the kids come out of their shell.

“This project is a really immediate and highly impactful way to make a visual statement at school,” she said.

Students at Marina Vista Elementary School in Marina wait to have their photo taken in a Turnaround Arts photo truck that will part be of a mural at the school on Monday. (Vern Fisher – Monterey Herald)